It is human nature for people to get stuck in their ways and avoid mentioning the word “change.” However, if the right person comes along, it is possible to break someone out of their staid existence to change for the better.

Matthew begins to break from his shy shell when he meets Anne—he cannot help it. He is captivated by the “freckled witch” (18) and her constant chatter. It doesn’t take very long before he cannot bear the thought of losing her. For 60 years, Avonlea people know Matthew as a silent man who never leaves Green Gables, but Anne’s exuberance for life bleeds into his personality. Though he is never very outgoing, he loves her enough to overcome his debilitating shyness and enter a store to shop for a dress with puffed sleeves, marking a monumental shift in Matthew’s character. Likewise, upon meeting Marilla, Anne’s flair for the dramatic prompts a smile “rather rusty from long disuse” (29). There is a love for the humorous deep within Marilla, but it takes the arrival of Anne to turn these two siblings into full, round characters.

As Mrs. Rachel attests, the Cuthbert siblings have lived for decades in relative isolation from the rest of the world.